Only stubbornness stands in the way of relief for thousands of Pennsylvania families sinking deeper into poverty, Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione said today. On the heels of an overwhelming and bipartisan state House vote to approve raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, opponents have little left to cling to, she said. “All surrounding states have taken action. The House has voted strongly in favor, and the Governor stands ready to sign,” she said. “If a vote was allowed in the Senate, I’m sure it would see the same overwhelming approval. The only thing standing in the way is political stubbornness.” By a 3-1 margin, the Republican-controlled House yesterday voted to increase the minimum wage to $6.25 an hour in July, and to $7.15 in July 2007. "The voters of Pennsylvania are calling for change. The political stalling must end," Tartaglione said. “Every day we wait a low-wage family falls another dollar below the federal poverty line. We’re going to press harder than ever to allow democracy to prevail in the Senate.” Tartaglione is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 926, the latest in a six-year battle to prevent low-wage families from seeing their incomes eroded by inflation. “Promises by Republican leadership to hold a vote in the Senate have not been kept. We can’t allow lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, to be prevented from casting a vote in favor of fairness.”
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